Mediation Services

Mediation Costs

1. gather basic information about the situation and what both clients would like to resolve
2. share information about mediation and the process and resources I use
3. answer any questions clients might have

After the initial hour, I provide clients with some time to consider whether they would like to continue, either at that time (for the second hour), or on another date.

I have a $20 fee for this initial consultation. I set this amount to be both affordable for clients, and to support me in serving the clients best interests instead of "selling" them on mediation in general or my services in particular.

Regular Fees
Our regular fees are as follows, payable at the end of each session:

• Divorce/separation or modification mediation: $180 per hour.
• Business and Governmental Agency conflicts: $160 per hour.
• Non-profit and community organization conflicts: $140 per hour.
• Couples and family conflicts: $120 per hour.
• Telephone-based empathy and conflict coaching: $60 per hour.

The same fees apply for:

• Any time spent writing up session summaries, proposals and agreements. We inform clients when we will do this, and how much time a project will take.
• Any substantial time (10 minutes or more) spent on the phone with either the clients or clients attorneys.
• Any time a mediation session is cancelled with less than 24 hour notice.

We do not assess client fees for brief phone calls, emails, or copies.

Fees are individually negotiated for Facilitation/Training and Coaching.

Cost Effectiveness
The time, energy and financial cost of mediation is an investment; one that often saves people a substantially greater amount of money and emotional stress, both immediately and long-term. I also highly value parties' limited resources by maximizing their investment in my mediation services in several ways, including:

• Organization - I try to structure information gathering, the discussion/negotiation process, agreement review process in a way that enhances both comprehensiveness and efficiency.
• Tools - I have created forms and processes for many decision topics which can be easily customized to guide you in gathering information and exploring your options.
• Clear Summaries - I both track and support progress by writing session summaries that summarize what was discussed, identifies action steps for each party, and establishes the next sessions' agenda.
• Useable Agreements - I write final agreements in a way that is both clearly understandable to the parties, and can be attached to court orders.

Ultimately, it is more accurate to consider the skills, experience, and tools of whatever professional you hire as an investment rather than a cost. The benefits of using mediation can be an investment in the long term financial and emotional health of the parties involved. There are several ways that participants can additionally reduce the costs of mediation.

Number of Sessions
The number of sessions for a mediation usually ranges from two to six, depending on the complexity of the issues, the number of decisions already agreed upon, and the emotional intensity surrounding the issues. After the first session, I will be able to provide a rough estimate on the amount of sessions and agreement drafting time.